One of the key tools for navigating through the APC is your structured training diary. This document is critical in allowing candidates to track their experience against each of their Core & Optional competencies. More importantly it also allows any shortfalls in experience to be identified and addressed with input from your counsellor and supervisor. Over the last 9 years of coaching APC candidates, the following advice has helped around 90% of my colleagues pass their APC first time and I really hope you find this useful when populating your diary entries.
Example Diary Entry 1: Cost Plan Updates for Eden Campus
- Date: 15th March 2024
- Competency Achieved: Design Economics & Cost Planning
- Days Recorded: 1
- Level: 2
- Project Title / Client: Unilever Eden Campus Development
- Diary Entry: Updates to the clients cost plan were made following issue of design information from RIBA Work Stage 2 to Stage 3.
Example Diary Entry 2: Preparing Tender Documents for NHS
- Date: 18th March 2024
- Competency Achieved: Procurement & Tendering
- Days Recorded: 1
- Level: 2
- Project Title / Client: NHS Leicester Royal Hospital Car Park Upgrades
- Diary Entry: Compiling tender pack for car park upgrades including form of tender, pricing document and invitation to tender letter.
Example Diary Entry 3: Risk Register Input for Kirklees Council
- Date: 19th March 2024
- Competency Achieved: Risk Management
- Days Recorded: 0.5 Days
- Level: 2
- Project Title / Client: Batley Sports Centre Refurbishment
- Diary Entry: Updates to the client risk register following risk workshop with the clients design team.
Please click here to access a free copy of the RICS APC Diary Template in Excel format
What Are The RICS APC Diary Requirements?
The RICS APC Candidate guide sets out the minimum number of training days that are needed prior to a Candidate being able to sit their Final Assessment Interview. This is summarised as follows:-
- Candidates with less than 5 years industry experience need to undertake structured training for a minimum of 24 months with 400 days experience and 96 hours of CPD.
- Candidates with over 5 years industry experience need to undertake structured training for a minimum of 12 months with 200 days experience and 48 hours of CPD.
Please bare in mind that these are the minimum requirements and I strongly advise aiming to exceed the minimum number of days experience by a margin of around 10%. This is recommended to give you the best possible chance of making a good first impression on the interview panel. For the CPD requirements, again I strongly advise trying to exceed the minimum hours by a margin of around 10%. There is no need to be overkill in accruing far in excess of these but at the same time you want to avoid conveying to the assessment panel that you have only done the bare minimum.
How To Populate The RICS APC Diary
When populating your diary, the entries need to record your day to day experience and allocate your time against the core and optional competencies. For example on the Quantity Surveying pathway if we had produced a Cost Plan we would allocate this experience against the Design Economics and Cost Planning competency. The diary record needs to be populated in either half or full days. We also need to record which competency the experience is allocated against.
You only need to reference the client & project title and include a brief description of the work you have carried out. Finally we also need to record which level of the competency you are achieving. For example level 1 is knowledge based, level 2 is practical experience and level 3 is providing your advice.
Using The Diary To Address Shortfalls In Experience
After populating your diary for a number of months, the information you have gathered can be used to track your experience and address any shortfalls in experience. For example looking at the below example after a few months of experience gained we can identify that the candidate is lacking experience in the Quantification and Costing of Construction Works Competency shown here at 2% within the progress dashboard.
Your supervisor meetings should be scheduled every 3 months and your counsellor meetings for every 6 months. The meetings should be used to highlight any shortfalls in experience and plan how further experience can be gained in your weaker areas. By the end of your structured training period you should be aiming to have a good spread of experience across each of the competencies.
Allocate Your Experience Wisely
Part way through my own APC I remember identifying a shortfall within the Construction Technology competency. I managed to overcome this through the help of my supervisor and counsellor who advised that I needed to think more broadly about how some of my experience could be allocated into more than one competency. They advised that I could allocate some of my recent measurement work against Construction Technology as well as the Quantification and Costing competency. This is because when measuring from the project drawings I had improved my understanding of how the elements of the building interrelate which in turn could be apportioned against Construction Technology to help address my shortfall. Your counsellor and supervisor should be able to guide you through the process of allocating your experience evenly and if in doubt please refer back to the Pathway guides which contain examples of how your experience can be allocated.
Keep Up With Your Entries
From personal experience I can confidently say that falling behind with your diary entries is not advisable. Setup an outlook reminder in your calendar to spend 10 minutes every Friday afternoon to keep on top of your entries. This will be much easier as your experience is still fresh in your mind and falling behind for just a few weeks can feel like a huge administrative task to catch up on. When you get into the habit of doing this every week it will become second nature and is so easy to stay on top of. With other important tasks looming such as populating your Summary of Experience and Case study, spending valuable time catching up on diary entries is something you want to avoid.
Setting Up The Excel Diary Template
When setting up the diary template, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: To download the Diary Template please click here. Enter your core competencies and optional competency titles on the ‘Enter Competencies Here’ tab.
Step 2: Select the duration of your structured training route of either 1 or 2 years from the drop down on the ‘Diary Entries’ tab. This will then auto populate the number of total days experience and CPD that are required. Also enter your name and APC Start Date.
Step 3: You can then begin populating your experience and use the ‘Progress Dashboard’ Tab to track your experience against the core and optional competencies. Note that the mandatory competencies do not need to be recorded.
Populating Diary Entries Into Your Submission
Eventually your diary entries will need to be uploaded and submitted to the RICS using the APC assessment platform. Personally I would recommend carrying out these uploads every 3 months when you have reviewed and signed off your experience with your supervisor and counsellor. Please see the video below for advice on uploading your diary entries on to the APC assessment platform.
Please click here to access the free excel diary template, CPD & Summary of Experience log and step by step guide.
Do I Need To Record The Mandatory Competencies In My Diary?
Recording experience against the mandatory competencies within your diary entries is not required as the RICS regard these as the competencies you will automatically demonstrate as part of your day to day surveying duties. You only need to record experience against your core and optional competencies within your diary.
Why the APC Diary Matters
1. Structured Reflection
The APC Diary provides a structured format for candidates to reflect on their experience. Regular entries encourage introspection, allowing you to identify strengths and areas for improvement. This reflective practice is crucial in identifying any shortfalls in your experience.
2. Evidence of Competence
The diary serves as a formal record of your professional activities and achievements. It’s not just a list of tasks, it’s a demonstration of how you have applied your knowledge in real-world situations to achieve each of your core and optional competencies.
3. Planning Your Development
By maintaining a detailed diary, you can identify gaps in your experience relative to the RICS competencies. This helps you to strategically plan your training and development, ensuring you gain the necessary experience before your final assessment.
How Many Hours Of CPD Do I Need For The APC?
Candidates with less than 5 years industry experience undertaking the structured training period of 24 months will need to obtain a minimum of 96 hours of CPD or 48 hours every 12 months. Candidates with more than 5 years industry experience undertaking the structured training period of 12 months will need to obtain a minimum of 48 hours CPD.
How Do I Populate The CPD Entries?
For CPD entries you need to record the type of CPD being undertaken for example a training course, private study or on the job training. The number of CPD hours also needs to be recorded as well as recording whether this was formal or informal. For the CPD to be classed as formal there needs to be clear objectives and learning outcomes at the outset. Normally this is within an organised setting such as a training course with an assessment element at the end. Finally, you need to populate your learning outcomes and explain what knowledge and lessons you have gained.
Example CPD Entry 1: Cost Plan Updates for Eden Campus
- Date: 20th March 2019
- Activity Type: Online / Distance Learning
- Description: JCT – Delivering Construction Projects (RICS Online Training Course)
- Learning Outcomes: Of particular interest was the section on dispute resolution in the JCT 2016 Suite of Contracts and the hierarchy of options.
- Hours: 3.00
- Formal / Informal: Formal
RICS APC Q&A STUDY GUIDES NOW AVAILBLE
